INTERVIEW WITH KATIE FOUNDER OF WITH LOVE FROM KATIE

With love from Katie, is all about sharing something important. Something that means the most to you as an individual. Something that you can’t just go pick up at the store and is unique to you. Every one of us are so different as individuals and it’s about embracing the good and things that will make you smile. Like being able to wear your children’s names so close to your heart. Or maybe an uplifting message to keep you motivated or comforted. 

The challenges I faced early in the game are, how in the heck do I get people to see me? How do I get my business out there? Even with the power of social media, how do I convince people to spend their hard earned money on me? I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I was so solid in my product, I knew if I could even just get a few people to purchase from me, they would tell their friends. I like to say, you’ll never know if you don’t try. 

Mistakes will come with the territory of starting and owning a business. It is all trial and error and I truly believe those mistakes you make are only going to make you work harder. Some days it will make you want to throw in the towel, other days it will scare the hell out of you. But pushing forward makes the victories that much sweeter. I would say my biggest mistakes to date would be is second guessing myself. Letting the bigger businesses make me feel like I couldn’t compete. I say go into your business like you’re just as good as everyone else. Better actually! You have to believe in yourself and what you are doing to convince everyone else to. So if I could tell WLFK something a year ago, it would be, have confidence and go all in right from the start. Take the risk and don’t be afraid or intimidated. 

My family drives me to succeed. Being a mom of two boys, I want to give them a great life full of opportunities. I want them to see it pays off to work hard and earn and build something on your own. Show them that you can do it all. You can still build a life and have a successful career. Don’t be afraid to have an idea and execute it. They are my whole “WHY”. I’m not sure I would had the opportunity if I didn’t have them. Id probably still be out working for someone else helping them build their dream.

Aside from my husband and kids, I would say my upbringing has inspired me. I grew up on 21 acres here in Southern California. We had horses, dogs, pigs, hamsters, and all kids of fun pets. It instilled something in my soul of living a simple lifestyle. Still to this day, horses are a big part of my life. I have a awesome guy named Tex and he is a big inspiration in WLFK. He represents another life a lot of people aren’t familiar with and are intrigued by. I often say I grew up in the wrong lifetime. I wish I could ride my horse into town to do errands lol. This simple life, has inspired me to create simple little pieces of meaningful jewelry that I get to literally share with the world!

I am always looking to learn and grow. Before I started WLFK, I did a lot of research. I wanted to do this right. I read many articles on building an online business with the power of social media. I looked at the websites and online accounts of other businesses I loved and studies what they did. What would they post? How did they connect with people? How did they layout their websites? I can’t say I sat down and read a whole book on how to start a business, I truly just did some homework and something in my gut was just telling me to go for it. Every day you have to keep an open mind. It’s impossible to know it all. I am very open with my followers how I am continuing to learn every day. I have even offered help and advice to other small businesses. We are all in this together.